Friday, April 3, 2015

Coat closet remodel.

A little coat closet remodel has been in the cards since about the minute we closed on the house. Both entrances to our house are through the foyer - the front door and also the laundry room, which leads to the garage, our main point of entry. The laundry room is too narrow to function as a mudroom, so all of our shoes, coats, and bags land in the closet in the foyer.

I tucked a little set of bookshelves into the closet to catch shoes, but there was no place to store bags and the boys couldn't reach their own coats. A massive lack of practical storage led to the foyer always looking like a disaster zone.

And I can't even blame the little boys. Brian and I are insanely terrible at maintaining an orderly space if it's not practical. We need it to be easy to keep clean, and this space was anything but easy!

I mean honestly, why is there a random pool cue and other crap taking up space? Because it was shoved in there at some point and that space wasn't practical for anything else, so the pool cue stayed. Until one day, when I tried to take the art supplies out of the closet for the boys and the pool cue fell on my head.

When I stopped seeing stars, I pulled everything out of the closet and decided to start from scratch. At first, I thought I would add some shoe storage outside of the closet, turn the bookshelf sideways, and find another home for pool cues and Halloween costumes.

I grabbed a Bissa shoe cabinet from Ikea to help, but that wire shelf. It was taunting me. My kids cannot reach it. And they're at the age where they actually can put their coats on and off by themselves. But if they cannot reach them, it defeats the purpose. So the wire had to go. And the bookshelf went to live in the garage.

I decided that hooks at the kids' level was the way to go. I researched the cost of hooks, hooks and rails, and all kinds of other options. The cheapest way to go was the Leksvik rack from Ikea (it's listed for $12.99 now, but was only $6.99 when I got them).

Next up, I needed more shoe storage. The boys' shoes fit into the Bissa shoe rack, but I needed something for Brian & I as well. I grabbed 12 shelf brackets from Lowes and Brian used some plywood we had leftover from the basement shelves to make shelves for the closet.

The shelves were already stained, but some of the edges were raw wood from Brian cutting the shelves. I thought about painting the edges, but went the lazy route and used washi tape instead. Spoiler alert - washi tape does not stick well to raw wood. Not even with double stick tape, super glue, or a variety of other things that I tried. There is paint in the future for these shelf edges!

I'm in love with the end result. It's pretty, and more importantly it works. The little blue cube holds hats and gloves, as it still gets a bit chilly here in the mornings and evenings. Once the warm weather hits, it'll be a landing spot for flip flops. And it's also a great stool for me to sit on while I tie shoes. The white bin on the top shelf holds adult hats and gloves now, but will be swapped out for sunscreen once warm weather really hits.

I also love that we have a little drop zone for the boys' sunglasses. They looooove sunglasses and we have a million pair, but we could never find them. Problem solved!

Nice smelling flowers are a must in the foyer, to create a welcoming smell and to cover boy-shoe-stink. Hyacinths fit the bill! Also, we like to keep a pencil on the floor next to the shoe cabinet, just in case anyone might need to write something down in that exact spot. (<<< sarcasm). Come on, be honest. Did you spot it before I mentioned it?

Snow boots have been swapped out for rain boots, and they sit on the lowest shelf for the shortest people to be able to reach. The boys can get their own shoes and coats and put them away when they're done! Independence is a big step for 3 year olds, and mine are becoming fiercely independent when it comes to coats and shoes. The 5 year old, on the other hand, leaves a trail of his stuff from the door into the kitchen. We're working on it.

It try to keep the closet clear of too many coats and bags. Only what we're currently using belongs in there; spare bags are in upstairs closets and out-of-season coats are in basement storage.

Brian and I only keep our most used shoes down here. Anything that isn't getting much use goes upstairs into our bedroom. Wanna know a secret? Those heels are my fave, but they get much less use than my running shoes. They're prettier than my running shoes though, so they got to steal the spot for the photos. Keepin' it real folks.

To say that I love this makeover is an understatement. It helps make our foyer a bit more welcoming and a bit less of a disaster zone. It proves that a space just needs to function well in order to keep clean. And it was very budget friendly! The Leksvik hook & rail were a killer price when I got them, making it extra affordable.

Budget Breakdown:

Ikea Leksvik hook & rail - $6.99 x4 = $27.96

Shelf Brackets - $1.68 x12 = $20.16

Wood for shelves = already had!

Ikea Bissa shoe cabinet = $24.99

Grand total = $73.11

Some kind of camouflage for that 90s-tastic doorbell is in the works, as is adding another family photo or two to that wall. But I'm sure that will happen some random Wednesday afternoon when I walk past it for the 982734238472nd time and decide that I've had enough and it's time to do something about it. Because that's how I roll!